REVIEW: Nuanced Nevermore Macabre Musical Madness

Through January 28, 2018 at The Edge Theater

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar: 

Chicago Premiere!

Black Button Eyes Productions Presents

NEVERMORE – The Imaginary Life and 

Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe

Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Christenson 

Directed by Ed Rutherford 

Music Direction by Nick Sula

Choreography by Derek Van Barham

This has to be the creepiest, coolest board of headshots I've ever seen! Black Button Eyes Nevermore cast living up to their name.

Following its hit production of SHOCKHEADED PETER, Black Button Eyes Productions is pleased to conclude its 2017-18 season with the Chicago premiere musical NEVERMORE – The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, the moving life story of the iconic American writer told through haunting music, poetic storytelling and stunning stagecraft, with book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Christenson. Directed by Producing Artistic Director Ed Rutherford, with music direction by Nick Sula and choreography by Derek Van Barham, NEVERMORE will play January 5 – 28, 2018 at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at nevermorechicago.brownpapertickets.com. 

Running time: 2:10, including intermission.

REVIEW:

It was truly a treat to catch Nevermore with my teenage son. We've both loved Poe's work forever, but knew little of his life story. This eerie and excellent musical makes for an entertaining night out. Poe endures one wrenching loss after another throughout childhood and into adulthood. He loses his parents and then his beloved adopted mother to suicide after she's forcibly committed to an asylum. He loses his true love, his chance at a college education, his sobriety, and eventually his mind. 

Photo credit for all: Cole Simon

One of the most striking characters, is the ever-present Raven, who stalks Poe as a grim reaper like specter with a mask reminiscent of the black plague doctors. His spiraling descent into despair and madness parallels his increasing genius in stellar storytelling. As Poe is pouring out his grief onto the pages, he is increasingly haunted by characters, both from his life and of his own making. 

Black Button Eyes Productions does a fabulous job on a storefront theatre budget. The set design is sparse and simplistic, which works well since the story is so dramatic and colorful. The cast’s musical performance of the fitting score is fabulous. The accompanying band of three keyboards (Nick Sula, Michael Evans, TJ Anderson) and percussion (Cali Kasten) does a fine job. Still, I would love to see a remount with a small, live band actually on stage, featuring theremin, dissonant strings, and maybe even a saw. 

Kevin Webb does a standout performance as Edgar Allan Poe, and there's not a weak link in the ensemble. Overall, this is an eclectic and striking production that's well worth seeing. Highly recommended. Catch Nevermore at The Edge Theatre through January 28th.

NEVERMORE features Kevin Webb as Edgar Allan Poe with Megan DeLay, Jessica Lauren Fisher, Ryan Lanning, Matt McNabb, Maiko Terazawa and Jeremy Trager.

Edgar Allan Poe’s life reads like one of his short stories: an unrelenting tale of misery and woe. His death is also shrouded in mystery. Was he just spectacularly unlucky, or did a supernatural shadow fall over his life? This Chicago premiere weaves fact and fiction into a tapestry of music and poetry.

The production team for NEVERMORE includes: Jeremy Hollis (scenic design, technical director) Beth Laske-Miller (costume design), Liz Cooper (lighting design), Robert Hornbostel (sound design), Catherine Woods (props design, puppet design) and Hazel McCabe-Flowers (stage manager).



Location: The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway, Chicago
Regular run: Saturday, January 6 – Sunday, January 28, 2018
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm.

*Please note: there will be added matinee performances on Saturday, January 13, Saturday, January 20 and Saturday, January 27 at 2 pm. 

Tickets: $30. Tickets are currently available at nevermorechicago.brownpapertickets.com. Tickets may also be purchased in person beginning one hour prior to each performance.



About the Artists:
Jonathan Christenson (Book, Music & Lyrics) is a director, writer and composer whose original musical plays have been presented at major theatres and festivals throughout the U.K., Australia, the U.S. and Canada. His work has been recognized with more than 40 British, Canadian and American awards and nominations, including a Lucille Lortel nomination for Outstanding New Musical of New York’s 2015 Off-Broadway season. His plays have been published by Playwrights Canada Press, Newest Press and Bayeaux Arts, recordings of his music can be found on iTunes and at Broadway Records, and his productions are featured in American Theatre, Maclean’s, CTR, PRISM International, Canada World View and All Stages. He was named one of “Alberta’s Fifty Most Influential People” by Venture Magazine and Alberta Playwrights Network chose him as one of Alberta’s one hundred most significant theatre artists of the past one hundred years.

Ed Rutherford (Director) recently directed Black Button Eyes’ Jeff-Recommended Shockheaded Peter, preceded by Amour (Chicago premiere), Goblin Marke, and Stephin Merrit's musical adaptation of Coraline (Midwest Premiere). In 2017, Ed also directed the Jeff-Recommend productions of The Liar with Promethean Theatre Ensemble and Paula Vogel’s The Baltimore Waltz at Brown Paper Box Co. He is an artistic associate at Promethean, where he additionally directed his own world premiere adaptation of the Peter S. Beagle fantasy novel The Last Unicorn, Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle and the company's inaugural production, Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy. As an actor, he has performed with Drury Lane Oakbrook, Porchlight, Theater Wit and many others. A graduate of Northwestern's theater program, he is currently completing his MBA at Kellogg.

Nick Sula (Music Director) is a pianist, arranger and award-winning music director for theater and cabaret. He is proud to return to Black Button Eyes where he performed as music director for Amour and Coraline. Recent theater credits include music direction at Porchlight Music Theatre, Pride Films and Plays, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble and Chicago Theatre Workshop. Nick is an instructor, music director and vocal coach at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He is also a member of the Chicago Cabaret Professionals, performing with vocalists at venues such as Davenport’s, Uptown Underground, Stage 773, Victory Gardens, The Twisted Vine and the Park West. www.nicksula.com

Derek Van Barham (Choreographer) is the Associate Artistic Director of Pride Films & Plays, a member of the Red Tape Theatre ensemble and a former Artistic Director of The Ruckus. For PFP, he has directed Angry Fags (Steppenwolf Garage Repertory), Songs from an Unmade Bed (Jeff nomination: Best Director of a Musical or Revue), PRISCILLA, Queen of the Desert: The Musical (co-directed by David Zak). He also wrote, directed and choreographed BITE: A Pucking Queer Cabaret and Kill Your Boyfriends. Other directing credits include Three Days of Rain (Boho), Miracle! by Dan Savage and Skooby Don't (Hell in a Handbag) and Trash (New American Folk Theatre). He has choreographed for Black Button Eyes (Shockheaded Peter, Coraline the Musical, Goblin Market, Amour), Permoveo (Albert Cashier), The Plagiarists, Inappropriate Theatre,and Salonathon. He can currently be seen improvising with the LGBT team Baby Wine (Fridays at The Annoyance). He was recently named one of Windy City Times 30 Under 30, recognizing individuals from Chicago's LGBTQ community. He holds an MFA from Chicago College of Performing Arts. www.derekvanbarham.com



About Black Button Eyes Productions
Along with the Jeff-Recommended Chicago storefront premiere of Shockheaded Peter, the other production of the 2017-2018 season, Nevermore continues Black Button Eyes Productions' mission to bring to Chicago premieres and seldom-seen works containing elements of fantasy, in which the magical and surreal invade reality. The company was founded in 2014 with the acclaimed Midwest Premiere of the musical Coraline, and continued in 2015 by producing the musical Goblin Market in its first Chicago production in over 15 years, attended by the author, Chicago native Polly Pen. In 2016 the company presented the Chicago premiere of the musical Amour.

PHOTO RECAP: YAKUZA Chicago Sax Metal Favorites Play Empty Bottle 25th Anniversary Show 12/22/17

It was our great pleasure to catch YAKUZA in concert once again on December 22, 2017. Of course it's fitting they would be in on The Empty Bottle's year long 25th Anniversary Concert Series #EB25, as Yakuza's Vocalist and saxophonist Bruce Lamont is also a longtime fixture behind the bar at EB. 

It was especially sweet to hear Helen Money, “A classical-cellist-turned-avant-metal virtuoso", sit in with them!

Yakuza has been a favorite of mine for years, ever since another Bruce, former priest turned bartender/musician, Bruce (Neal) turned me on to the band when we worked at Facets Multimedia together. 





I was bemoaning the lack of a "Pandora-like" setting that could find bands by weird genre key words like (my actual quote) "heavy metal sax"... when Bruce N. laughed and said, do you know Yakuza? I'd already photographed another of Lamont's bands, Led Zeppelin cover band, LZ2, but hadn't heard of Yakuza at the time. They may never gain huge commercial success, but they have a fervent following and we catch them live every chance we can. They're dissonant, loud, haunting and unlike any other metal band I've experienced. It may be an acquired taste for more traditional headbangers, but theirs is a compelling sound I can't get enough of.


Check out my full set of YAKUZA live show shots in the slide show here and more favorites embedded below. 




I'm also including a sweet video of their whole show from that night via Wwatchthemwatchyou's YouTube Channel:

In another odd coincidence, I had a talk with the guy taping the show, and we discovered we were both frequent tapers at Dead Shows "back in the day". Just goes to show, a passion for live music transcends genres. Crank this one up! 




Via Empty Bottle:
Chicago’s YAKUZA is no stranger to the Empty Bottle stage. Well-known throughout the Chicago metal scene for incorporating jazz and world music elements, they’re basically a genre of their own. Vocalist and saxophonist BRUCE LAMONT notes influencers ranging from PINK FLOYD to GEORGE ORWELL and Ethiopian music. 



Formed in 1999, their debut album Amount to Nothing received critical acclaim from the likes of Terrorizer and Chicago Sun Times. They’ve released a boatload of boundary-crushing albums since and are still rocking as wildly as ever. The four-piece has long shown proclivities for music beyond metal and it's their willingness to incorporate these many and varied influences that sets them apart from their peers, continually pushing the envelope with an adventurousness and experimentation we've come to expect. YAKUZA has carved an unchallenged niche in the metal genre and we’re are excited to have them back for our unforgettable #EB25 anniversary series.

Other Musicians That Night:
Click the links for our photo features.

ALISON CHESLEY aka HELEN MONEY is a cellist who has become known for her adventurous sound, bold compositions, and compelling stage performance. Called “A classical-cellist-turned-avant-metal virtuoso" by the Boston Phoenix, CHESLEY channels her sensibilities and experience as a rock musician through a classical instrument, altering both genres without apology. She has played on over 150 albums with artists such as Disturbed, Bob Mould, Mono, Anthrax, Broken Social Scene, Russian Circles, and Archer Prewitt among others.

Support tonight comes from the one and only SANFORD PARKER. These days, if it’s metal and recorded in Chicago, chances are SANFORD PARKER was at the mixing board. His own bands, MINSK and BURIED AT SEA are super killer as well. We’re honored to witness a master at this craft this evening. Pay close attention and maybe you’ll learn a thing or two!

OPENING: World Premiere of The Light at The Den Theatre Via The New Colony Through 2/4/18

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

The New Colony Presents the World Premiere of

THE LIGHT

Written by Loy Webb 

Directed by Toma Langston

January 5 – February 4, 2018 at The Den Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows will be ChiILin' at one of our favorite Chi, IL theatre venues, The Den Theatre, on Thursday the 11th, reviewing The Light. We can't wait to catch this world premiere by The New Colony. Check back soon for our full review. 

The New Colony is pleased to conclude its ninth season with the world premiere of Loy Webb’s gripping romantic drama THE LIGHT, directed by Toma Langston, playing January 5 – February 4, 2018 at The New Colony’s resident home, The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets are currently available at www.thenewcolony.org. 

THE LIGHT features TNC Ensemble Member Jeffery Owen Freelon Jr. (Byhalia, Mississippi - TNC, A Wonder in My Soul - Victory Gardens) and Tiffany Oglesby (An Octaroon - Definition Theatre Company, Significant Other - About Face & Theater Wit). 

A surprise proposal takes an unexpected turn that upends the world of Genesis and Rashad, forcing them to confront a devastating secret from the past and putting the future of their relationship at risk. Featuring two of Chicago’s most dynamic actors, THE LIGHT is a 70-minute, real-time rollercoaster journey of laughter, romance and despair that uncovers how the power of radical love can be a healing beacon of light.

The LIGHT is the 30th world premiere presented by The New Colony since 2008 and marks the final production under the tenure of founding co-artistic directors Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder, who are stepping down at the conclusion of the company’s ninth season 

The production team for THE LIGHT includes: John Wilson (scenic design), Cassandra Kendall (lighting design), Regina Victor (dramaturg), Noelle Simone (assistant director) and Daryl Ritchie (stage manager). 

Regular run: Thursday, January 11 – Sunday, February 4, 2018
Curtain times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
Industry Night: Monday, January 29 at 7:30 pm 
Tickets: Regular run: $20. Students/seniors: 25% off. Tickets are currently available at www.thenewcolony.org.  

About the Artists
Loy Webb (Playwright) is a Chicago born theatre journalist and playwright. Her new play The Light was developed through The New Colony’s Writer’s Room 4.0. She is an inaugural Tutterow Fellow at Chicago Dramatists, and her one-act plays have been featured at Black Ensemble Theatre, American Theater Company, 20 Percent Theatre Company Chicago, University of North Dakota, GI60 International One Minute Play Festival, Modern-Day Griot Theatre Company New York and the Black Lives, Black Words International Project, in which she is an associate artist. As a theatre journalist she is a member of the Association of Women of Journalists-Chicago, a past mentor with the AWJ-Chicago/Goodman Theatre’s Cindy Bandle Young Critics Program and a contributing theater critic for Newcity. Her one act play, I AM a Woman is published in both Wish to Live: The Hip-hop Feminism Pedagogy Reader and the Black Lives, Black Words International Project anthology. Additionally, her one-act play Saving Inge is published in One Minute Plays: A Practical Guide To Tiny Theatre. Loy holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and J.D. from The John Marshall Law School. Her primary mission with all her writing is to be a pointer towards hope.

Toma Langston (Director) is a freelance theater director. Credits include Victory Gardens: Directors Inclusion Initiative Director 2015. (Assistant Director) Sucker Punch. Jackalope Theatre: 1980 (or Why I'm Voting for John Anderson). Sideshow Theatre: (Assistant Director) Truth and Reconciliation and Give It All Back. Toma is a proud steering committee member of DirectorsLab Chicago and an associate artist with Black Lives, Black Words International Project. Directorial credits include: The Last Five Years, The Shadow Box, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Toma has worked with Chicago Dramatists, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre and Prologue Theatre. 

Jeffery Owen Freelon Jr. (Rashad) is a proud south side Chicagoan (Hyde Park) and excited  to work on a play by black people and for black people. He is also extremely proud to see it produced by The New Colony. He has worked with an array of theatre companies such as Theatre Unspeakable, Definition Theatre and Victory Gardens and has made an appearance on Chicago PD. He is represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.

Tiffany Oglesby (Genesis) is originally from Atlanta, GA. and recently appeared as Vanessa in About Face and Theatre Wit’s co-production of Significant Other. Other theatre credits include An Octoroon (Definition Theatre), truth and reconciliation (Sideshow), East Texas Hot Links (u/s Writers) and A Small Oak Tree Runs Red (u/s Congo Square). She also had the pleasure of working with other theatre companies including Raven and Lifeline. TV credits include Chicago Med and The Chi. She received her BFA in Performing Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design and her MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Happily exclusive with Grossman and Jack Talent. 

THE LIGHT is sponsored by Michael and Mona Heath.

About The New Colony

The New Colony develops NEW ART and NEW ARTISTS in order to educate and build NEW AUDIENCES. Founded in 2008, The New Colony has established itself as “one of Chicago’s essential off-Loop companies” (Chicago Tribune) having developed and produced over 25 world-premiere plays and musicals garnering four Joseph Jefferson Awards, the 2011 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award, and Best Overall Production at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. The New Colony is a resident company of The Den Theatre located in Wicker Park.

OPENING: The Good Fight at City Lit Via Babes With Blades Through February 17th

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES CHICAGO PREMIERE OF

THE GOOD FIGHT AT THE CITY LIT THEATER,

JANUARY 6 – FEBRUARY 17, 2018

A Remarkable True Chapter in the Struggle for Women’s Suffrage:

The English Suffragettes who Learned Jujutsu

running time is 1 hour and 45 minutes 

including intermission

Babes With Blades Theatre Company (BWBTC) has been a favorite of ours here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows for decades! We adore their female centered period pieces and original works, and we're particularly jazzed to see The Good Fight. We're also completely down with their mission statement:

In each element of their programming, BWBTC embraces two key concepts:

1)     Women are central to the story, driving the action rather than responding or submitting to it

2)     Women are capable of a full emotional and physical range, up to and including violence and its consequences.

The company offers participants and patrons alike an unparalleled opportunity to experience women as heroes and villains; rescuers and rescuees; right, wrong, and everywhere in between: exciting, vivid, dynamic PEOPLE. It’s as simple and as subversive as that.

 I'll be out on MLK Day, Monday the 15th, for the press opening, so check back shortly after for my full review. I love that in the microcosm of Chicago's theatre world, this show is coming on the heels of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's incredible Women's suffrage version of Taming of the Shrew, conceived and directed by the inimitable Barbara Gaines. It's my least favorite Shakespearian work and I'm still stunned and elated that Barbara was able to work some serious magic with this historically problematic, misogynistic piece and turn it into a feminist masterpiece, while remaining true to Shakespeare's original words and themes.

I can't wait to immerse myself in the women's suffrage era once again, with Babes With Blades, and experience a kick ass element of the movement we never learned in school, The English Suffragettes who Learned Jujutsu.

BWBTC continues its 20th Anniversary Season: “Origins” with the Chicago premiere of The Good Fight, playing at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., January 6 – February 17, 2018.  

Developed in 2011 through BWBTC’s Fighting Words program under the title Deeds Not Words, the play is written by Anne Bertram, executive director of Theatre Unbound, a Minneapolis/St. Paul company devoted to work by and about women. Elizabeth Lovelady, a Jeff Award-winning artist based in Chicago, directs The Good Fight, which features combat by Fight Choreographer Gaby Labotka. Preview performances are Saturday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 7 at 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. Opening Night is Monday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. Regular performances are Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Preview tickets are $10, student and senior tickets are $15, early bird general admission (available online through January 15, 2018) are $20 and general admission (after January 15, 2018) are $25. To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit BabesWithBlades.org.

The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel, was the primary militant group pushing for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. Under the slogan "Deeds, not words," the WSPU advocated targeting property as a form of protest, from smashing shop windows to burning and bombing buildings. Imprisoned WSPU members – including Pankhurst – launched hunger strikes, which were initially countered by the authorities with force-feeding; later the government introduced the "Cat and Mouse Act," under which starving suffragettes were released, only to be re-imprisoned once regaining their health. To defend their leaders and comrades, the WSPU established "The Bodyguard" – a secret, all-female security team, trained in jujutsu – and the good fight began.

So what do British women from the early 20th century have to say to today's audiences?

“They had to arrive at answers for questions that sound awfully familiar: When is it OK to use violence? What difference does it make if women are in power? If you believe a law is unjust, should you break it?” said Playwright Anne Bertram. “It’s also good to remind ourselves about the price these women paid to secure women’s voting rights. They were imprisoned, tortured, force-fed. Some died.”  Adds Director Elizabeth Lovelady, "The US has plenty of problems, but we have so many rights and comforts that women in other parts of the world don't enjoy. During our auditions, as an example of how 'this is still happening,' I frequently referenced the fact that women in Saudi Arabia aren't allowed to drive. But since our auditions took place, the law has changed – and the change was largely influenced by women who broke the law and drove, and posted videos of it online. I think there's a lesson there, that you have to resist, but you also have to publicize your resistance to really influence a change. And that's a thing the women in this play do really well.”

Lovelady continues, “Lately there's so much discussion of white feminism (meaning white women who only care about moving themselves forward and don't recognize or try to address the unique issues that women of color face), which has been an issue with feminism since the get-go. So one way that I'm trying to bring this play out of the "history" department and into the "now" department is by casting a diverse array of women. To be clear, it's still set in the original time period, but we are populating the play with a group of women who don't look like you would expect. Instead they look like the people you'd ride the el with, making it speak more to the present. I hope that including women of color in this production will be a reminder that we are all in this together. And her rights are my rights. And if she's oppressed, we all need to stand up and fight.”

The cast of The Good Fight includes Scottie Caldwell, “Gertrude Harding;” Elisabeth Del Toro, "Mary;" Alison Dornheggen*, "Christabel Pankhurst/Edith Garrud;" Delia Ford*, "Harriet Kerr;" David Kaplinsky, "Mr. Dickinson/Charlie/Inspector McBrien/Constable;" Jean Marie Koon, "Emmeline Pankhurst;" Jillian Leff, "Cicely;" Arielle Leverett, "Grace Roe;" C. Jaye Miller, "Hilda;" Taylor Raye, "Emily Wilding Davison/Wardess;" Joseff Stevenson, "Home Secretary McKenna/Constable/Inspector Gray/Jujutsu Demonstrator" and Richard Traub, "Mr. Hunt/Bill/Constable/Prison Guard" with Tina Arfaee and Catherine Dvorak*, understudies.

The production team for The Good Fight includes Anne Bertram, Playwright and Elizabeth Lovelady, Director with Samantha Barr, Production Manager; Lauren Brady, Assistant Stage Manager; Kenya Hall, Dramaturg; Rose Hamill, Stage Manager; Carrie Hardin, Dialect Coach; Gaby Labotka, Fight Choreography; Kimberly G. Morris*, Costume Design; Patrick O’Brien, Sound Design; Rachel Rauscher, Scenic Design; Julia Skeggs, Assistant Director; Arielle Valene, Properties Design and Becca Venable, Lighting Design, Technical Director.

*denotes BWBTC ensemble member

The Good Fight SPECIAL EVENTS
“No Man Shall Protect Us” filming
Throughout January

“No Man Shall Protect Us” is a documentary on a secret society of women who served as bodyguards for the leaders of the radical suffragette movement in England during 1913/14. The documentary was crowd funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign during October 2017.  The production will make use of rare archival media, including photographs and silent film, as well as the narrative device of interview-style monologues by actors portraying key historical figures, such as suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst.  Re-enactment sequences, including action scenes, will be shot during January and February of 2018 and the completed documentary will then be made freely available online as an educational resource, marking the 100th anniversary of women's voting rights in England.

Writer/producer Tony Wolf is the author of the young-reader biography “Edith Garrud: The Suffragette Who Knew Jujutsu” (2009) and the graphic novel trilogy “Suffrajitsu: Mrs. Pankhurst's Amazons” (2015).  He also wrote and co-produced the feature documentary Bartitsu: The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes (2011).  Wolf has served as a historical consultant for several playwrights writing on the suffragette Bodyguard theme, including The Good Fight author Anne Bertram, as well as for BBC television productions including “Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: The Rise of Martial Arts in Britain” (2013) and “The One Show” (2014).

The collaboration with Babes With Blades Theatre Company's production of The Good Fight will take place during January of 2018 and will involve shooting scenes from the play, which will then be edited to feature as re-enactment sequences in the documentary. 

Open Caption Weekend
January 25 – 28

All performances this weekend of The Good Fight feature open captioning by Caption Point, on a screen provided by the Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC) Accessible Equipment Loan Program. 

“Women’s Suffrage: A Radical Difference in Tactics” – A Post-Show Talkback Sunday, Jan. 28

Emily E. LB. Twarog, PhD (Assistant Professor of History and Labor Studies at the University of Illinois’ School of Labor and Employment Relations - Labor Education Program; Director of the Regina V. Polk Women’s Labor Leadership Conference) and Tony Wolf (author of “Edith Garrud: The Suffragette Who Knew Jujutsu, Suffrajitsu: Mrs. Pankhurst's Amazons;” co-producer of No Man Shall Protect Us) compare and contrast the largely peaceful and law-abiding women's suffrage movement in the US with the radical militancy that characterized the UK movement between the years 1902-1914.

Pay What You Can Performances
Thursdays, Jan. 18 and 25 and Feb. 1 and 8
To reserve a PWYC seat, call 773-904-0391. 

IMPACT Weekend February 15 – 17
The Babes will be taking a post-show collection in honor of IMPACT Chicago at all performances this weekend. IMPACT is committed to ending violence and building a non-violent world in which all people can live safely and with dignity. By teaching self-defense, IMPACT provides women and girls with the tools they need to prevent, minimize, and stop violence.  IMPACT Chicago is committed to making its programs accessible to people of all economic, racial/ethnic, and social groups. For more information on IMPACT Chicago, please go to www.impactchicago.org.

ABOUT ANNE BERTRAM, PLAYWRIGHT

Anne Bertram is a founding artistic associate of Theatre Unbound, a Minneapolis/St. Paul company devoted to work by and about women. She currently serves as its executive director. Her work as a playwright has been seen in venues from off-Off Broadway to middle-school classrooms in Fargo, as well as successful runs with Theatre Unbound, including Murderess (2011) and The Good Fight (2012). Awards and commissions include Northwestern University’s Agnes Nixon Playwriting Award (lovehateforgive), The Playwrights’ Center’s Jones Commission (The Donner Gold), Studio Z’s Playwright in Electronic Residence Commission (St. Luke’s) and the Tennessee Williams One-Act Prize (Liability).

ABOUT ELIZABETH LOVELADY, DIRECTOR

Elizabeth Lovelady is a director, playwright, arts administrator and sometimes performer. She won the 2016 non-equity Jeff for Best Adaptation for D.O.A. with Strawdog Theatre, which she also directed. She is an artistic associate of Red Theater where she directed Prince Max's Trewly Awful Trip to the Desolat Interior and 20% Theatre where she directed Fanny's First Play and Photograph 51. Other favorite directing credits include Lone Star/Laundry and Bourbon, Crimes of the Heart, The Dining Room (Oil Lamp); The War to End War: Los Alamos (The Island) and Off the Spectrum, a devised piece she created as part of Red Tape Theatre’s Fresh Eyes project. She also created and performed the one-woman show A Simple Lesson in Baking with Marie Antoinette. 

ABOUT GABY LABOTKA, FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER

Gaby Labotka previously worked with BWBTC as assistant violence designer and Gloucester/Hartleur/John Bates for Henry V. Most recently, Labotka directed Wasteland Hero for the Reutan Collective and was the violence director for Night in Alachua County presented by WildClaw Theatre. She is currently the fight choreographer/assistant director for 'Twas the Night Before Christmas presented by Emerald City Theatre.  She is an advanced actor combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) and is frequently a teaching assistant for stage combat classes at Movement and Combat Education (MACE), The Actors Gymnasium and regional stage combat workshops. She is a proud member of the Alliance of Latinx Theatre Artists (ALTA).



ABOUT BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY

Gender parity is a hot topic, with news clip after article after report documenting how women, and women’s stories, are still underrepresented. Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s response – now, for the past 20 years, and moving forward – is to develop and present scripts focused on complex, dynamic (and often combative) female characters.

In each element of their programming, they embrace two key concepts:

1)     Women are central to the story, driving the action rather than responding or submitting to it

2)     Women are capable of a full emotional and physical range, up to and including violence and its consequences.

The company offers participants and patrons alike an unparalleled opportunity to experience women as heroes and villains; rescuers and rescuees; right, wrong, and everywhere in between: exciting, vivid, dynamic PEOPLE. It’s as simple and as subversive as that.

Babes With Blades Theatre Company (BWBTC) continues its 20th Anniversary Season: “Origins” with the Chicago premiere of The Good Fight, playing at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., January 6 – February 17, 2018.  Developed in 2011 through BWBTC’s Fighting Words program under the title Deeds Not Words, the play is written by Anne Bertram, executive director of Theatre Unbound, a Minneapolis/St. Paul company devoted to work by and about women. Elizabeth Lovelady, a Jeff Award-winning artist based in Chicago, directs The Good Fight, which features combat by Fight Choreographer Gaby Labotka. Preview performances are Saturday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 7 at 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. Opening Night is Monday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. Regular performances are Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Preview tickets are $10, student and senior tickets are $15, early bird general admission (available online through January 15, 2018) are $20 and general admission (after January 15, 2018) are $25. To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit BabesWithBlades.org. 

BWBTC’s 2017-18 programming is partially made possible by the kind support of The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council Agency, and a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

World Premiere 10 Minute Plays by Tracy Letts, David Rabe and More: TEN 2018 at The Gift Theatre January 5-14th

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

The Gift Theatre is pleased to present TEN 2018, the company’s annual season kick-off festival of ten world premiere ten-minute pieces by The Gift and guest artists, curated by Artistic Director Michael Patrick Thornton and Associate Artistic Director Paul D'Addario, playing January 5 – 14, 2018 at 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood. 

Tickets for TEN are free for Gift subscribers and $10 for the general public. Tickets are currently available by calling the Gift’s box office at 773-283-7071 or visiting thegifttheatre.org



The TEN 2018 line-up includes:

NIGHT SAFARI
By Tracy Letts
Directed by Kristen Johnson
Featuring ensemble member John Gawlik

WINTER OR FALL
By ensemble member David Rabe
Directed by Artistic Director Michael Patrick Thornton
Featuring ensemble member Mary Ann Thebus with Mike Nussbaum

CANCELLATION
By ensemble member Will Eno
Directed by ensemble member John Gawlik
Featuring ensemble members John Gawlik, Martel Manning and Michael Patrick Thornton with Ian Deanes, Bryce Gangel, Katie Gonzalez, Emma Palizza, Tricia Rodriguez, Becca Savoy, Mac Wallach and Pat Weber

NORTHERN MICHIGAN TRUST
By Rammel Chan
Directed by Brian Shaw
Featuring Bryce Gangel, Jeremy Nichols, Emma Palizza and Pat Weber

THE CELLPHONE PLAY
By Carolyn Braver
Directed by Kathryn Walsh
Featuring Ian Deanes 

SHAMED
By Isaac Gomez
Directed by Laura Alcalá Baker
Featuring Donovan Diaz and Katie Gonzalez

NIGERIAN ASTRONAUT WANTS TO COME HOME
By J. Nicole Brooks
Directed by ensemble member Chika Ike
Featuring ensemble member Martel Manning with Mac Wallach

SLATE
By Carly Olson
Directed by Sommer Austin
Featuring Becca Savoy and Tricia Rodriguez



 TEN will also feature performances by Natural Gas and giftLIT.



Performance Schedule:

Friday, January 5 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, January 6 at 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, January 7 at 3:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Thursday, January 11 at 7:30 pm
Friday, January 12 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, January 13 at 3:30 pm & 7:30pm
Sunday, January 14 at 3:30 pm

Tickets: FREE for Gift subscribers; $10 general public. Tickets are currently available by calling the Gift’s box office at 773-283-7071 or visiting thegifttheatre.org. 



About The Gift Theatre
The Gift’s 17th season consists of Stacy Amma Osei-Kuffour’s world premiere of Hang Man, directed by Jess McLeod (March 2 – April 29, 2018); Shakespeare’s Hamlet, directed by Monty Cole (June 1 – July 29, 2018); and the Midwest premiere of Tony Award-winning playwright and ensemble member David Rabe’s Cosmologies, directed by Artistic Director Michael Patrick Thornton (October 12 –December 9, 2018). The Gift subscribers ("Gifters") receive admission to three shows, free parking at Gale Street Inn, free admission to all Wednesday night “Natural Gas” improv shows and invitations to special subscriber-only special events. Subscribe at thegifttheatre.org or by calling (773) 283-7071. 

OPENING: Catch The Midwest Premiere of Cal in Camo at Rivendell Through February 17th

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble announces complete casting for

the Midwest Premiere of

Cal in Camo

by RTE member William Francis Hoffman

Directed by RTE member Hallie Gordon

Featuring RTE Members Ashley Neal, Keith Kupferer and Eric Slater

**Funds tight? Pay What You Can: Five seats (10% of the house) are available for each performance. Reservations are made on a first come, first served basis.**

January 5 – February 17, 2018

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we're excited for another fabulous female centered production at Rivendell. There's still a huge need to hear a myriad of styles of women's voices and experiences and we're enamored with Rivendell's mission statement to "...advance women’s lives through the power of theatre. Rivendell cultivates the talents of women artists—writers, actors, directors, designers and technicians by seeking out innovative plays that explore unique female experiences and producing them in intimate, salon environments."

Rivendell fills an important role in the Chicago region as the only Equity theatre dedicated to producing artistically challenging and original plays created by and about women. 

I've known Chicago director, Hallie Gordon, since our children were in a pre preschool playgroup together. I've admired her work for years. I'll be out Saturday night 1/13 for the press opening, so check back shortly after for my full review. 



Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE), Chicago’s only Equity theatre dedicated to producing new work with women at the core, announces the Midwest premiere of Cal in Camo by RTE member William Francis Hoffman and directed by RTE member Hallie Gordon. Cal in Camo runs January 5 – February 17, 2018, at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago.  

Marooned in a sinking starter home in rural Illinois, Cal struggles to bond with her newborn daughter as her beer salesman husband struggles in vain to land accounts in unpromising new territory. Playwright William Francis Hoffman’s new play explores the intricacies of family ties with equal doses of penetrating humor and scorching revelation. 

The cast of Cal in Camo includes RTE members Ashley Neal (Cal), Keith Kupferer (Flynt) and Eric Slater (Tim).

The creative team includes RTE members Joanna Iwanicka (Scenic Design), Janice Pytel (Costume Design) and Victoria Deiorio (Original Composition and Sound Designer), as well as Charles Cooper (Lighting Design), and Blake Burke (Properties Design). The stage manager is Jenniffer Thusing.

ARTIST BIOS
William Francis Hoffman (Playwright) was born and raised in Oakville, Missouri, a mile from the Mississippi River. He is a member of The Actor’s Gym in Los Angeles, California and was an ensemble member at Rivendell Theatre from 2001 until he moved to Los Angeles in 2007. His play Cal in Camo, a co-production between The Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and Colt Coeur, received its world premiere in New York City. His play Drift is currently being workshopped in Los Angeles.

Hallie Gordon (Director) previously directed Dryland and Eat Your Heart Out for Rivendell. Hallie has directed for Steppenwolf Theatre; last productions included: HIR, The Rembrandt, and Monster. She is currently the Artistic Director for Steppenwolf for Young Audiences and an Artistic Producer for Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She is the recipient of The Helen Coburn Meier & Tim Meier Achievement Award.

Keith Kupferer (Flynt) is a founding member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble where he was most recently seen in the critically-acclaimed production of How the World Began. Other Chicago credits include The Qualms, Good People, Middletown, South of Settling, Of Mice & Men, Carter's Way, Men of Tortuga, Things Being What They Are, Jesus Hopped The A Train and Tavern Story at Steppenwolf Theatre; The Humans at American Theatre Company; Men’s Support Group, God of Carnage, High Holidays, Passion Play and The Old Neighborhood at the Goodman Theatre; The Mystery of Love and Sex (where he received a Jeff nomination for “Supporting Actor”), and Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Wolf at Writer’s Theatre; Hillary and Clinton, Never the Sinner and Appropriate at Victory Garden’s Theatre; Gypsy at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; End Days at Windy City Playhouse; Execution of Justice with About Face Theatre; Cat Feet and The Old Neighborhood at Northlight; Desire Under The Elms, a co-production between Philadelphia’s Freedom Theatre and Chicago’s Court Theatre; The Unseen, The Meek, Canus Lunis Balloonis (nominated for a 1998 Joseph Jefferson award for Best Ensemble) and The Physicists for A Red Orchid Theatre; and Big Lake, Big City, Trust and Hillbilly Antigone for Lookingglass Theatre. Film credits include the soon-to be released Widows; The Dilemma; Dark Knight; Public Enemies; The Express; Stranger Than Fiction; Road to Perdition; Finding Santa; Fred Klaus; The Last Rights of Joe May; The Merry Gentleman directed by Michael Keaton, Resurrecting McGinn; and Open Tables. TV credits include Better Call Saul; Empire; Chicago P.D.; Betrayal; Crisis; Chicago Fire; Detroit 187; The Beast; Prison Break; The Jamie Kennedy Experiment and Early Edition.  

Ashley Neal (Cal) is thrilled to be back at Rivendell Ensemble Theatre, where she is an ensemble member and most recently appeared in Alias Grace. Other Rivendell productions include Wrens, These Shining Lives, 26 Miles, The Walls, and Be Aggressive. Ashley most recently appeared in A Red Orchid Theatre's The Nether where she also appeared in A Red Handed Otter. Other shows you may have seen her in include: London Wall, Men Should Weep and Stage Door with Griffin Theatre; The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle with Steep Theatre; as well as work with Chicago Dramatists, Pine Box, Irish Theatre Company, Step Up, Jackalope Theatre, Victory Gardens, Strawdog, The Greenhouse Theatre, and others. Ashley is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and The School at Steppenwolf. 

Eric Slater (Tim) has been a company member of RTE since 2006 and has appeared in Winter, Rasheeda Speaking, Self-Defense, Expecting Isabel, Silence and most recently Alias Grace. Chicago: Hand To God (Victory Gardens); Kill Floor (American Theatre Co.); Diary of Anne Frank (Writers Theatre); Feathers & Teeth and Smokefall (Goodman); and many others. Off & Off-Off Broadway: Juvenal Players (The Kitchen); The Dudley’s: A Family Game! (Theatre for a New City); Our Greatest Year (Kraine & The Brick); Original Cast Gloryana (The Public Theater & The York Theatre Co.); and Cyanocitta (The Becket on Theatre Row). Regional: Fornicated From The Beatles (American Repertory Theatre); Experiment America (ICA Boston); Hunchback (DIA Detroit); Permanent Collection (Madison Rep.); Our Greatest Year (Dobama Theatre). Film/ TV: Widows, Coming to You, and Chicago Fire. Eric is a founding member of the immersive theatre company The New Ensemble based in NYC and has written extensively for The Neugents Project as a member of the North Carolina Writer’s Group. He has also written and produced two short films and a number of theatrical experiments.

Previews:
January 5 – 13, 2018
Friday, January 5 at 8:00pm
Saturday, January 6 at 8:00pm
Sunday, January 7 at 4:00 pm
Thursday, January 11 at 8:00pm
Friday, January 12 at 8:00pm
Saturday, January 13 at 8:00pm
VIP opening: Sunday, January 14, 2018 at 6:00pm
Press Opening Saturday, January 13, at 7:00pm

Regular run:January 18 – February 17, 2018

Schedule:     
Thursdays-Saturdays at 8:00pm
Saturdays at 4:00pm (except January 13)
Additional matinee performance on Sunday, February 11 at 3:00pm
Town Hall Discussions will follow select Saturday matinees

Location:
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago

Tickets: General Admission
Previews: $28
Regular Run: $38
Student, Senior, Active Military, Veteran
Preview: $18
Regular Run: $28
Subscriptions: $59-$80 for 3-plays  

Box Office: (773) 334-7728 or www.RivendellTheatre.org

Parking and Transportation: Free parking is available in the Senn High School parking lot (located a block and a half from the theatre behind the school off Thorndale Avenue). There is limited paid and free street parking in the area. The theatre is easily accessible via the Clark (#22) or Broadway (#36) bus, and is a short walk from the Bryn Mawr Red Line El station.

About Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Founded in 1994, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble advances women’s lives through the power of theatre. Rivendell cultivates the talents of women artists—writers, actors, directors, designers and technicians
by seeking out innovative plays that explore unique female experiences and producing them in intimate, salon environments.

Rivendell fills an important role in the Chicago region as the only Equity theatre dedicated to producing artistically challenging and original plays created by and about women. After years of being an itinerant company, RTE moved into its own theater space in 2010 in Edgewater. As new members of the neighborhood, the company is focused on becoming an integral community partner and serving as a catalyst to engage audiences in a discussion of local social issues.

For more information about Rivendell Theater Ensemble, visit http://rivendelltheatre.org. Follow RTE on Facebook at Facebook.com/rivendelltheatre and on Twitter @RivendellThtr.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble is supported by generous grants from: The Lester and Hope Abelson Fund; The Alphawood Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; The Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development; The Chicago Community Trust; The Chicago Foundation for Women; The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; The Reva and David Logan Foundation; The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust; SIF Fund at The Chicago Community Trust; Cultural Outreach Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events; and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.